A Love for the Ages
by StBridget
Summary: "I mean I want to spend my life with you. I want to wake up next to you every morning, I want to raise my kids with you, and I want to grow old with you. It means I can't see my life without you in it." An introspective on Steve and Danny's relationship. McDanno platonic love


Hawaii Five-0 is property of CBS and its creators.

A/N: This was inspired by one of the calendar entries of the Adulthood is a Myth daily calendar by Sarah Anderson. It showed several panels of a m/m couple professing their love, getting married, raising kids, and growing old together, each panel qualified with "no homo". Clearly, it was meant to be satirical, but I took it seriously. "That sounds like Steve and Danny," I thought. So, this was born.

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The first time Danny called Steve "babe", Danny didn't think anything of it. He passed it off as a Jersey thing. And it was. Except Danny didn't call Chin or Kono babe. He'd never called Rachel babe. In fact, Danny couldn't remember calling anyone except Steve "babe". But it felt right, so Danny mentally shrugged his shoulders and kept on doing it.

Then came the "I love you's". When Danny told Melissa he didn't say the words lightly, he was being truthful, but Steve was absolutely right when he pointed out Danny said "I love you" to him. Danny felt no shame at that. He did love Steve. In his way, he cared as much about Steve as he did about Rachel or Melissa or any of his girlfriends. Danny wasn't going to deny it—if you asked him, he'd own it immediately. If you pressed him, he'd probably admit he was _in love_ with Steve, no qualifiers; Danny wasn't going to discount it with a "no homo" like some guys he knew. It wasn't some big deal; it just was.

Danny began to get an inkling of just what he'd do for Steve when he walked away from Grace and Rachel, walked away from what he thought was his dream. There was no question that Danny would stay for Steve; there was also no question that outside of his parents, his children and his siblings, there was no one else Danny would do that for. Certainly not Rachel—Danny had already proved that. Danny had tried to analyze his feelings when Rachel had called him on it, had accused him of loving Steve more than he loved her. In the end, Danny came to the conclusion she was right; he did love Steve more. One more thing about his and Steve's relationship that just was.

What Danny would do for Steve became even clearer after North Korea. If you'd asked Danny before Steve got himself into that mess, Danny would have said there was no way he'd put his own life at risk for his Neanderthal partner or anyone else. Yet there he was, peering at Steve shivering and vulnerable in the back of a truck in the middle of a godforsaken country the US was practically at war with on an unsanctioned mission with a SEAL team and a questionable pilot. What's more, Danny had been the one to organize it. Faced with the prospect of never seeing Steve again, Danny hadn't hesitated. He'd give his life for Steve, and Steve would do the same; Steve proved that by going to Colombia with Danny, then moving heaven and earth to get him out of prison. It wasn't because Danny had done the same for Steve, either; it was because they cared that much for each other, what the rest of the world thought be damned.

It wasn't until the whole Catherine fiasco that Danny decided to act on his feelings. Danny told Steve he was just looking out for him when he questioned Catherine's motivations, but the truth was, Danny was jealous. Not just that Steve was getting something Danny desperately wanted, but that Steve was getting it with someone other than him. Danny didn't understand it at first; he didn't have _those_ feelings for Steve, so why did it matter? It did, though, and Danny couldn't deny it.

Danny couldn't hide it either when he came over after Catherine left. He saw Steve sitting on the steps, utterly wrecked, and Danny's heart broke for him. He couldn't see Steve like that. He just couldn't. He had to do something to make Steve feel better, or Danny would be just as miserable.

Danny sat down on the steps next to Steve and put his arm around him. Steve leaned into it, resting his head on Danny's shoulder. Danny ran his hand through Steve's short hair, and Steve sighed, closing his eyes and losing himself in the feeling.

"Catherine's a fool," Danny said after a while. "She doesn't deserve you."

"But I love her, Danny," Steve said. "I want to spend the rest of my life with her. Don't I?" He sounded a bit uncertain at the end.

"I don't know, babe," Danny said, the endearment slipping out without a thought after all this time. "She left you in Afghanistan, she hid things from you now, and she clearly lied when she said there was nothing she'd rather do than stay here. Doesn't sound like the type of person I'd want to spend the rest of my life with."

"But, what am I going to do?" Steve wailed. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone."

"You won't be alone, Steve," Danny said. "You'll have me."

"Yeah, but I don't want to marry you."

At that moment, things became crystal clear to Danny. He _did_ want to marry Steve. Danny didn't want to have sex with Steve, never had and couldn't see himself ever doing so, but after Melissa, Danny had admitted to himself there wasn't room for a girlfriend in his life because his world revolved around Steve and the kids, and he wouldn't have it any other way. "What if I said I wanted to marry you?"

Steve scoffed. "You don't have to take pity on me, Danno. I know you're straight."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't want to marry you."

Steve lifted his head from Danny's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly," Danny said.

Steve was silent. "I don't swing that way."

"I already told you, neither do I," Danny said.

Steve frowned. "Is this some 'gay for you' thing?"

"No," Danny said. "I'm not 'gay for you'. I'm not gay for anybody. I just want to marry you."

"What, like 'no homo'?" Steve said, a touch of bitterness in his voice.

"I don't even know what that means," Danny said.

"So what do you mean?" Steve was confused, and so far, Danny's explanation wasn't helping.

Danny took a deep breath and tried to put his feelings into words. For someone who was usually so free with words, they came with difficulty. "I mean I want to spend my life with you. I want to wake up next to you every morning, I want to raise my kids with you, and I want to grow old with you. It means I can't see my life without you in it."

Steve thought about that. "But you don't want to sleep with me?"

"I want to sleep with you, yeah," Danny said, "but just sleep, just lie next to you and take comfort from knowing you're there." He gestured to the two of them. "Just like this. Just like when we sit next to each other on the couch and you throw your arm over me. Just like we've always done. I just don't want to have sex with you."

"That's crazy, Danny."

"Maybe it is," Danny conceded, "but since when have we ever been normal? Look, I get it if you don't feel the same, but it's out there in case you do."

Steve considered it for a moment. "I can see what you're saying. I can't imagine my life without you, either. I dread the day you decide you're going to retire, because that means I won't get to see you every day. Every time we sit out in our chairs, I think 'this will be us when we're old and gray'. Even when I thought I wanted to marry Catherine, I always thought you'd be in the picture, too. Marriage is a big step, though. I'm not saying no, but I don't think I'm ready yet."

Danny patted Steve's knee and stood up, dislodging Steve from his hold. Danny tried to keep his voice steady, but he was pretty sure his disappointment leaked through. "I understand. Just know the offer's open."

Steve reached out and put his hand on Danny's arm. "Wait, Danny."

Danny paused, waiting for Steve to continue.

It was a moment before Steve spoke again. "I'm not ready to marry you, but I like the idea of waking up next to you. Stay? At least for the night?"

Danny smiled softly at Steve. "I'd like that."

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One night led to another night led to many nights until most of Danny's clothes were at Steve's. Steve looked at Danny one night, sprawled comfortably on the sofa tucked up under Steve's arm. He looked at Charlie's toys and Grace's science project strewn about the living room. He looked out the window and saw Danny's surfboard perched beside his own (Danny still claimed he hated surfing, but he had a pretty nice board for someone who didn't like the sport). Steve took in the signs of Danny all around him and made up his mind. "Move in with me."

Danny smiled that soft smile he saved just for Steve. "I'd like that."

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It was just a few months after that they said their vows in front of family and friends. Their vows were simple: "You're my best friend, and there's no one I'd rather spend the rest of my life with." That was all that needed to be said.

Life in the McGarrett-Williams household wasn't all smooth sailing. They argued about child-rearing, they argued about work, they argued about their health, they argued about what to make for dinner. Through it all, they held onto each other, refusing to let the arguments tear them apart.

One night, after Grace and Charlie were grown with kids of their own, Steve and Danny sat on their chairs by the ocean admiring the sunset. "I love the life we've built," Danny said.

"Me, too," Steve said, placing his hand on Danny's knee. "You're my soulmate."

Danny covered Steve's hand with his own. "And you're mine. I always thought sex was part and parcel of the whole being in love thing, but I was wrong. You proved that to me. There's no one else I could ever imagine loving like this."

"Me, either," Steve said. He twined their fingers together, and they sat in comfortable silence watching the sun sink down beneath the waves, side by side like they always were and always would be. It may be platonic, but theirs was truly a love for the ages.

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A/N: The last scene echoes the last scene of the comic. I was just really touched by the couple staring off into the sunset with their arms around each other reflecting on the life they built and declaring themselves "no homo soulmates." That was so Steve and Danny on the beach I had to use it.


End file.
